Sikota Wina recounts his early days as a Politician

VETERAN politician Sikota Wina, a longtime resident of Lusaka, says he used to walk on a daily basis from his home in Matero to his workplace at old Freedom House on Cha Cha Cha road despite being a graduate.

Mr Wina said walking to work was not a big deal as there were no minibuses that time and that one was considered rich if they owned a bicycle.

“We would also walk from Matero to Chilenje and we never complained because we were used to it,” he said.

Mr Wina recalls living in a two-bedroom thatched house despite being a Minister of Education adding that the upper class lived in Matero, which was the first compound for Africans in Lusaka.

He also remembered how Vice-President Guy Scott’s late father, Dr Alexander Scott, was the first person to build a house in Lilanda and allowed Africans to build houses on his farm.

There was segregation as shops and places which were demarcated for whites were a no-go area for Africans.

“The old man KK was forced to become a vegetarian because he was not allowed to buy from their shops,” he said.

Mr Wina also recalls getting arrested in 1954 when he, his brother Arthur Wina, friend Wesley Nyirenda and others smartly dressed in suits and deliberately went to one of the restaurants for the whites pretensiously ignoring that it was a no-go area for them.

“Within seconds, the police came to our table telling us to get out. They told us that African dogs were not allowed there and we told them that we did not read what was on the door before entering the restaurant,” he said.

Mr Wina said he and his friends were later taken to Central police station but they were released when they told the police that they had not done anything wrong after being asked if they were causing any trouble.

He said during his youth, Africans were not allowed to own shops in town but were only allowed to build shops in villages.

Mr Wina went to one of the oldest schools in Lusaka, Munali secondary school ,which boasts of producing the first President Dr Kenneth Kaunda and his entire cabinet after independence in 1964.

The school was first situated at David Kaunda Secondary School before it was moved to the new Munali Secondary School premises in 1946.

“The school produced the first graduates in the country and I came from Mongu, which was located in a bush. We were using English and were only allowed to use our local language on Sunday.

“The school helped us break tribalism in the country as we all came from different tribal lines,” Mr Wina said.
He added that education helped Africans get their independence.

31 COMMENTS

just wondering!! where was micheal Sata when his friends were at munali,,, speaking english everyday expect on sundays?.. most important where was micheal Sata when others were fighting for independence? if he was in london,, why was he there??

Mukulu you liberate Barosteland, that is your number one task. Not all that talk of walking. We all walked on foot. You and the dictator kaunda sold Barosteland. You fear Pathetic fo.ols (pf) because you fear to loose your money and wealth. Viva Barosteland abash PFools.

Why would they allow Africans in their beautiful restaurants, litter free neighbourhoods only to give you a chance to go and write graffiti or worse defecate and urinate on their walls. These were real things that used to happen. By the way, there were no pot holes at state house and their suburbs. Much as I appreciate the ‘freedom’ fought, we did not learn anything in the way the white govt systems work. The result is what we see today, graduates with no desire to work for the nation but assist to plunder the meagre resources, every street has a dozen potholes now bathtubs. If the reason for freedom was to be treated equal, are we doing that now? ZNS killing innocent kids, police refusing permits to assemble. znbc allowing only PF cadres to speak on air. I think colonialism was better.

Why would Africans allow a minority of white intruders to take over their land and dictate to them where to go? Two wrongs don’t make a right, sir. Our internal problems do not legitimate the external oppression that colonialists put us through!

@ICHIKUPEMPULA
Hear, hear!! The British gave us independence without a fight. Just because Kaunda and a few of his liuetenants were imprisoned you make that into heroic fight as the Mau Mau in Kenya. The British Army was never deployed to Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) as in Kenya to fight nationalists. Read your history carefully.

People like Sikota Wina should be celebrated by all Zambians. He was a great freedom fighter who should write a book about their struggle for younger generations to learn from. I will always treasure the roles played by him Kapwepwe Nkumbula KK in our political liberation. Nkumbula KK

I think Kapwepwe’s role in the struggle for independence is exaggerated. Most people even WRONGLY believe that he was the first vice President, he was not. Nelson Mandela criticises Kapwepwe in his book ‘Long Walk to Freedom.’
Kapwepwe was divisive and f he had been allowed to go on, there would have been no Zambia.

Indeed from the luxury of your couch you can afford to belittle your heroes. People died during the 60s because they weren’t prepared to be ruled by foreigners. Unarmed they picked up stones and threw them at British police. Britain knew it didn’t have the capacity to fight over 50 wars so it handed over power. Kapwepwe was one radical who was never scared of telling the colonisers what he thought of them. That’s why he wasn’t liked by bamwisa. Read ubuntungwa mu jambo jambo and Africa we can forgive but we can’t forget. Whatever happened after wards these guys were heroes.

Colonialism was good because, at least, there was law and order! For me, especially in land allocation, town and country planning, cleanliness, garbage collection, pothole mending, etc. Now, even political cadres distribute land illegally – grabbed from people with title deeds and the state fails to reverse that! legally. That shocks me! Lusaka looks like a shanty compound – no town and country planning; illegal squatters everywhere and land is grabbed from rightful owners with impunity. Bring back the British – please somebody!

Kapwepwe convinced Nkumbula to accept a coalition government. Hence ANC and UNIP formed a government. And you call that tribalism. Do not forget that Mandela was on a list of Terrorists, because of the work he was doing. So if you want to paint something black it is very easy. Kapwepwe was a freedom fighter.

Will writing a book really change things,like our poor economy? You’ve kept on saying that you’re independent and yet you’ve failed to uplift your own living standards,all because you still rely on foreign standards. Free trade has been given to foreigner and yet that to you is ok,looking at how & what you suffered during those days. Mr Sikota,you’re known to be a veteran politician,does your politics involve you in advising your fellow politicians? If so,why is it that few zambians are allowed to acquire their own companies? Even to those who own,the govt is charging them the taxes highly? As a politician who suffered much,are you really comfortable with that?… Let’s be vigilant,it’s our country…